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Charities Day on the Hill 2017

Monday, October 23, 2017

Public Policy

Bill Schaper & Lindsey Vodarek

This past Tuesday, October 17, more than 40 charity and nonprofit leaders from across Canada gathered in Ottawa for our third annual Day on the Hill to lobby MPs, Senators, senior officials, and cabinet ministers on issues that affect us all. With ten teams and more than 50 meetings, we covered the Hill across parties, issues, and areas of expertise. This was only our third Hill Day, but we seem to have hit our stride.

People took notice

Parliamentarians saw our efforts and took notice. Meetings were largely very positive, with several Members committing to forwarding our ideas and helping to address our concerns. Our ‘Asks’ are starting to be answered.

Not only did we communicate our messages as a group - other organizations and notably the politicians themselves shared our messages and expanded our reach. On social media, we hit a record 44,400 impressions with double the average engagement rate. Our hashtag #WeAdvocate trended across Canada. People took notice.

Immediate impact

Perhaps best of all, Senator Ratna Omidvar led the charge the very next day, asking a question in the Senate concerning the timing of the government’s response to the advisory panel recommendations on political activity reform. This is a big win already. We had an impact.

Keeping up momentum

Now, it’s time to keep going. Imagine Canada will follow up with those we met with over the coming months and do a deep dive on everything we’ve learned. We will engage those we met with a desire to advance our interests further in the coming months. It is our hope that, together, we will continue to move the dial on Canada’s regulatory environment and the capacity of charities and nonprofits to thrive.

Thank you to everyone who participated - we speak more loudly when we speak as one.